Who Should I Start? Michael Mayer or Luke Musgrave

Sunday, January 4, 7:54 AM

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Michael Mayer should continue to operate in a high-volume role during Sunday's Week 18 contest against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Raiders recently placed Brock Bowers (knee) on injured reserve, ending his season and putting Mayer into the starting role for the final two games of the year. Last weekend, he exploded as the top target in Geno Smith's offense, catching nine of 10 targets for 89 yards. In total, throughout the three games that Bowers has missed and Mayer has played this year, the latter tight end has 15 catches, 149 yards, and one touchdown. A quarterback change is expected in Week 18, though, as Kenny Pickett steps in for the injured Smith (ankle). Pickett struggled to the tune of 64 yards and one turnover in his lone start this year, but he should still be able to support a fantasy-relevant role for Mayer on Sunday. At worst, Mayer will operate as a security blanket in case Pickett struggles to throw the ball deep or needs to get the ball out quickly. As it stands, he ranks as the overall TE8 in RotoBaller's latest fantasy football rankings for Week 18.

Friday, January 9, 2:12 PM

Green Bay Packers tight end Luke Musgrave has not scored double-digit fantasy points in any game this season, failing to register a single reception in four different games, including Weeks 17 and 18. Musgrave was a popular waiver wire add following Tucker Kraft's (knee) season-ending injury in Week 9, but he failed to capitalize on the expanded role, and he should be viewed as an afterthought in most fantasy playoff formats. Musgrave finished the 2026 season with 24 catches for 252 yards and no touchdowns, and he is RotoBaller's TE12 for a Wild Card Weekend that sees 12 teams in action.